Delicious Greek Vegan Tsoureki (Greek Easter Sweet Bread) (Oil-Free)
Ingredients
For the yeast
- 100 ml of lukewarm water
- 60 ml plant-based milk we used soy milk
- 1 package dry yeast 9 gr
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. flour ideally, high-gluten
For the dough
- zest of 2 oranges
- 150 ml of orange juice
- 150 gr coconut sugar or other sugar of your choice
- 150 gr tahini
- 45 ml of plant-based milk
- ½ tsp. ground cardamom
- ½ tsp. mahlepi or mahleb
- ½ tsp. Chios mastiha crushed or powder
- 650 gr flour ideally, high-gluten
For decoration (optional)
- almonds
- melted chocolate
- hazelnut butter
Instructions
- Prepare the mixture with the yeast by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Liquid materials must be at lukewarm temperature to activate the yeast. Leave the mixture aside for about 15-20 minutes.
- Mix the mixture and prepare the dough.Put all the ingredients (except the flour) in the same bowl, mix and slowly add the flour, while continuing to mix.
- Start kneading by hand, unless you have a mixer.If necessary, add a bit of flour, so that it does not stick to the hands. The amount depends on the type of flour you have.
- Form a ball of this dough and cover it with a towel in a warm place or put it in preheated oven at 50°C for about 30-45 minutes.
- Continue kneading.Cut it in half and divide each piece into 3 smaller doughs which you roll and shape into strips.
- “Attache” the top of the 3 strips together and start to form tsourekia, alternating each of the 3 strips.
- If you want to put some chocolate inside the tsourekia, you can open each strip, place grated chocolate, close it and re-shape it.
- Press easy tsoureki everywhere so that it has the same shape and size and is baked evenly everywhere.
- Cover them with a towel in a warm place or put them in a preheated oven at 50° C for about 30-45 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for about 30-35 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown (the exact temperature and time depends on the oven).